Pitchfork

Best known as one-third of Stockholm indie-pop trio Peter Bjorn and John, Peter Morén is doing without the rest of the folks for a solo gig next month in New York. Morén has also posted three new songs sans Bjorn and John over at his MySpace, of which "Twisted" is probably the most immediate. Sounds like the success of last year's excellent Writer's Block hasn't gone to Morén's head. "First, you'll have to feel bad/ Then you'll have to feel worse/ And then perhaps you'll get to sleep a little while/ But then it starts all over again," he sings.

"Twisted" backs Morén's familiar, slightly nasal voice with a bright, repeated keyboard figure. The song is a "work in progress," he notes, so it isn't clear whether the relatively spare arrangement represents how it will sound on a forthcoming album. Combined with the second-person lyrics, the song could fit alongside Cat Stevens' early-1970s catalogue-- this is a fine thing. Morén, who plays all of the instruments, adds layers of spindly acoustic guitar, scratchy percussion, and (possibly) bouzouki as the track continues. It's too bad if Morén is really feeling so bummed, but at least he's found a good outlet for it.

Stream:> Peter Morén: "Twisted"
[Writer's Block is out now on Wichita]